(en) Australia, Melbourne, Anarchist Affinity Call for actions

Date
Wed, 08 May 2013 20:34:46 +0300

Summer Anarchist Reading Group : Over the past several weeks a comrade has been running a
reading group in the city (Melbourne CBD) on Thursdays, 11am-1pm. Texts covered so far
include ‘Anarchy’ by Errico Malatesta and ‘Marx’s Economics for Anarchists’ by Wayne
Price. Texts for the next two weeks are listed below. You can get in touch by visiting the
Facebook event here. 28 February: ‘Decolonizing Anarchism: An Antiauthoritarian History of
India’s Liberation Struggle’ by Maia Ramnath Section: Excerpts from chapters 1 and 3. 7
March: ‘Anarchism and Anarcho-Syndicalism’ by Rudolf Rocker Section: TBA ---- Anarchist
Affinity April 28 ---- A group of us are meeting at the Flinders St steps at 12 midday, to
head to the Broadmeadows protest as a group. Come! Free the refugees!

For 10 days 27 refugees inside the Broadmeadows detention centre with adverse ASIO
assessments went on hunger strike. The hunger strike has ended but they are still to
receive justice. This makes this protest more important than ever. It will be an important
show of solidarity for their struggle against indefinite detention. They have all been
found to be in need of protection. They have not been charged or convicted of any crime
and yet they are staring at a Kafkaesque nightmare of never ending imprisonment.

The protest will not only call for justice for ASIO refugees...

Close Manus, Close Nauru
End Mandatory Detention- not MITA extension
Don't Deport to Danger.

- Over 5,000 asylum seekers are currently detained in detention centres across the
country, inc hundreds of children.
- Hundreds are languishing in hellish conditions on Nauru or Manus Is
- Despite being recognised as refugees in need of protection, dozens face life behind
barbed wire after being rejected by ASIO. At MITA there are ASIO refugees who have been
detained for over 4 years!
- MITA is set to dramatically expand its capacity to detain asylum seekers. This centre of
anguish & misery should be closed immediately. All asylum seekers should be processed in
the community with access to the support & services that they need.

From April 26-28 refugee rights groups and supporters are converging on Northam Detention
Centre in Perth. The Melbourne protest outside Broadmeadows detention centre is in
solidarity with the Perth Convergence. There will also be protests at the Sydney Villawood
detention centre and Brisbane Immigration Transit Centre. We aim to shine a spotlight on
the horrors of mandatory detention.

We are planning a Release Ranjini Day on May 10, 1st anniversary of Ranjini's indefinite
detention, as part of broader campaign for ASIO-rejected refugees.
We want to have small groups of people gather across suburbs in capital cities and country
regions for candlelight vigils at 5pm on this day.
One idea is that on cue at the same time, each group will play "Song For Selva', Les
Thomas's moving tribute to all refugees, including a Tamil incarcerated for more than 3
yrs. The CDs will be out in time and distributed. If can't get CD can download from net.
We will have speak-outs, leaflets about ASIO-rejected refugees and posters of Ranjini
everywhere. We will target the best places for traffic flow, shopping centres, malls etc.
We will look to Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Hobart, Darwin. Country
areas will be Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo, Newcastle, Wollongong, Gold Coast, Cairns etc.
We siuggest that MITA in Melbourne and Ranjini's jail, Villawood, have small vigils. Also
we could do them in Dandenong and in the northern suburbs, maybe Sunshine or Preston. In
Sydney the CBD as well as Parramatta.
(Please nominate places where 10-20 people could gather for an hour long vigil at 5pm on
Friday, May 10. Once we have the venues, and people willing to organise in each group, we
can then get together the exact plan for the night, and get it out to each group in order
to synchronise our rallies.
Please spread the word. RELEASE RANJINI DAY IS FRIDAY, MAY 10, 5pm. Contact TREVOR GRANT
on 0400 597 351.

About
Anarchist Affinity is a small group based in Melbourne, Australia. We intend to publish a
detailed statement of shared positions here in the not too distant future.

It is our intention on this website to publish a wide variety of material by Anarchist
Affinity members and supporters. Whilst member’s views broadly reflect those of the group,
statements that reflect the formally adopted position of the group will be marked as such.